Merger savings offset lower beer sales

Article Excerpt

MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $50 and TPX.B $49; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 186.1 million; Market cap: $9.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) continues to enjoy the benefits of its February 2005 merger with U.S. brewer Coors, and its 2008 combination of its U.S. operations with those of SABMiller to form a new joint venture called MillerCoors. The savings from these two deals are helping it compete with larger, multinational brewers. In the three months ended September 25, 2010, the company’s beer volumes fell 4.0%. However, earnings before merger costs and other unusual items rose 12.3%, to $239.1 million, or $1.28 a share (all amounts except share prices and market cap in U.S. dollars). A year earlier, Molson Coors earned $212.9 million, or $1.14 a share. Savings from the MillerCoors merger and other costs cuts totalled $58.9 million in the latest quarter. Molson Coors is a buy. The more…